Title: Opposite Attraction - Chapter 5
Author: Blue Ice
E-mail: Blue_IceSM@hotmail.com
Rated: (G)
Hi! I don't have anything else to say, so I'm just going to continue
the story....
Morning came as Serena opened her eyes tiredly. The whole
night was spent tossing and turning. Looking at the alarm clock, it
only said 4:30. The first thought that came to her mind was Darien.
Seeing that the sun hasn't come up yet, Serena quickly got out of
bed. Her left wrist was bandaged because of some minor injuries.
Tears threatened to spill as the horrid memories of the accident
replayed in her head.
Putting on her school uniform, Serena packed her backpack
and ran down stairs quietly, not wanting to wake anyone. Not even
bothering with breakfast, she rushed out the house and ran straight
to the hospital. "Please Darien....wait for me." she breathed heavily
as the cool morning wind brushed past her already reddened cheeks
from running.
Upon reaching the hospital, Serena pushed the double doors
open and walked to the information desk. A lady around her 30's looked
at Serena with a surprised expression. "School doesn't start until
7:30 right?" she asked friendly with a curious smile. "Yes I know
that, but I'm here to see someone." Serena answered and straightened
up her skirt. "And who might that be?" the lady asked as she turned to
her computer.
"Um...Darien Chiba." Serena answered shakily. The lady nodded
her head in recognition with the name. "Are you his family?" she asked.
"No." shaking her head, the lady looked at her apologetically. "I'm
sorry, but only family members are aloud to see him. He is still in
the ICU. I'm afraid you'll..." "No you don't understand.." Serena
interrupted her. "He doesn't have any family. He was an orphan." the
lady was a little taken back at the sudden information.
"Oh...I had no idea. Tell you what. I'll talk to the
doctor about it. I'm sure we can do something for you." she smiled
reassuringly. Serena nodded her head. "Please tell the doctor that
it's really important to me. I....I'm his friend, I have to be there
for him." Serena looked down sadly and fidgeted with her bandage.
"Wait here." the lady said and left into another room.
Moments later she came out with a smile. "You can stay for a
while. He's going into surgery again in two hours." Serena gasped at
the news. "He...he'll make it right?" the lady shook her head. "I...I
honestly don't know. He looks like a strong person. I'm sure he'll be
fine." Serena sighed deeply as she followed the nurse into the ICU.
Taking a deep breath, Serena stood in front of the door to
Darien's room. "Come on Serena..." she urged herself. "Be brave."
Closing her eyes tightly, she turned the door knob and pushed open the
door. The room was dark with the curtains still shut. Darien's form
was visible to her as she stepped into the room nervously.
As soon as she saw him, tears begin to stream down her cheeks.
Machines were hooked up to Darien and the noise of his steady beating
heart gave Serena shivers. Tubes were inserted into his right hand and
nose. Few scratches were visible on his cheeks and forehead. The rest
of his body laid limp on the bed with a thin sheet over him to keep
warm.
"God...." Serena whispered to herself as she made her way
toward him. Suddenly he made a groaning noise as Serena immediately
backed away, not wanting to hurt him. Like a timid mouse, Serena
slowly tiptoed beside his bed and gazed down at his pale face in the
dark. "Look at you....I'm so sorry." she said softly and sat down on
a chair being extremely careful.
For the next half an hour or so, Serena just stared into
Darien's serene face. Sometimes he'll mumbled something incoherent and
then wince in sudden pain. "I hate myself for doing this to you Darien.
...I will never forgive myself...as long as I live." she gently
brushed some hair out of his face and fingered his creased eyebrows.
"You're so beautiful..." she said softly and touched his eyes lovingly.
"I...I know you can't hear me right now....but...I had to tell you that
you can't just let go without a fight ok? You have to come back to me..
..I need you so much...." she couldn't go on as tears welled up in her
eyes again and rolled down her cheeks.
Looking around the room, Serena noticed that machines were
everywhere. Some hooked up to Darien, monitoring his heart and others
having to do with air pressure and oxygen. Laying a hand over his
tenderly, Serena took notice for the first time of his body. It was
slightly bumpy under the sheets as she wondered what it could be.
Lifting the sheets slowly and carefully, Serena gasped at what she
saw.
Layers of bandages were wrapped around his body. Some areas
were soaked with blood as it also stained the sheets underneath him.
Shaking her head in denial, Serena stood up and ran out of the room.
"Doctor! Please someone hurry!" dropping her backpack to the floor,
Serena ran blindly down the hallway until she bumped into someone who
just turned the corner.
"Serena! Isn't it?" the older man asked as he looked into
her frightened face. Staring into his dark eyes for a second, she
recognized him as the doctor who performed surgery on Darien
yesterday. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she turned towards the ICU.
"Something's wrong with Darien....why....why is he bleeding so much?"
she asked frantically and gripped his shirt with fear. "Why isn't
anyone doing anything to stop it..." she shook her head furiously.
"Serena! Serena! Please calm down!" the doctor urged as he led
her to a chair and set her down. "We gave him blood yesterday because
he lost so much from the accident. His wounds were severe, even more
so internally. We couldn't do anything to stop the constant bleeding
because the surgery wasn't successful last night. But listen to me
Serena! Are you listening?" he looked her straight in the eyes. She
nodded her head still sobbing. "If we performed surgery on him last
night. He wouldn't have survived. Please don't take this the wrong way.
Another emergency surgery is scheduled for him in about an hour. We
will try our best. I promise."
Serena had stopped crying now as she wrapped her arms around
herself as if she were cold. "You can tell me the truth doctor...I'm
...I'm capable of handling it." she looked up to him with sharp eyes.
"There is not a guaranteed answer at this point. And the truth can
turn out to be a lie if things change. If you lose hope, what's there
left for Darien?" he asked her gently. "I'm just not strong enough to
believe in happy endings anymore. Look at him....he's weak and...and
he's unconscious...." she covered her face in shame.
"I'm sorry Serena....that you have to see him like this. But I
can tell you honestly that he'll be fine. He will make it through." he
patted her shoulder and smiled. "Then I'm going to stay for the
surgery." the doctor nodded in understanding. "You care about him
deeply don't you?" he asked as Serena stood up. "I wasn't sure about
my feelings before, and I'm still not sure. But I know that we both
care about each other." she sighed, remembering the trip to the zoo and
how happy they had been.
"Are you sure your parents wouldn't mind you skipping school?"
he asked Serena as she picked up her backpack. Turning to face him
slowly, Serena thought for a moment. "I'd be here anyway with or
without their permission. They would understand." nodding his head,
the doctor left to prepare for the surgery. Walking back into Darien's
room, Serena pulled the sheet over his broken body. "I need you in my
life..." she whispered as she traced his jaw line tenderly. "Please be
ok." just as she looked down sadly, two nurses walked in.
"I'm sorry to cut your time short, but the doctors are ready
for surgery." the nurse named Emily smiled as she unlocked the wheels
on the legs of Darien's bed. Serena nodded and let go her hold on
Darien. "How long will it take?" she asked worriedly. "If successful,
less than 4 hours. If not...it might take much longer." she answered
with sympathy as they rolled him out of the room.
Serena followed them to the surgery room doors and stopped.
Bending down, she gently kissed Darien's forehead. "Michael needs you
too....don't forget about him." she smiled slightly and watched as
they pushed him into the room. Feeling overwhelmed by everything,
Serena picked up the phone and called home.
It was Irene who answered the phone. "Hi mom?" Serena spoke
quietly. "Serena! Where have you run off to this time?" Irene asked
with concern. "I'm...I'm at the hospital. They've just taken Darien
into surgery. I have to stay." there was silence on the other end as
her mother contemplated. "Alright. But I still want you to get your
homework from Ami, or someone. And Serena. Please take it easy ok? I
love you honey." "I love you too mom." Irene sighed as they hung up,
and looked to her husband with a small smile. "What are we going to do
with our daughter?"
"It's been 5 hours already! What's taking so long?" Serena
paced back and forth across the now slightly crowded hallway. She was
really hungry, but couldn't even drink because she was so nervous and
worried about the procedure. Suddenly, the doors opened and out came
the doctors with noticeably relaxed looks on their faces. Serena
immediately ran over to them.
"How is he?" she asked the doctor who talked to her earlier.
He sighed with a tired smile and nodded his head. "Looks like he's
going to make it!" "AHHHH!!" Serena couldn't help but scream in
excitement at the first good news, and fiercely hugged the doctor to
death. Seeing that Serena couldn't talk, the doctor went on ahead and
explained everything. "Since the bleeding wasn't as constant as
yesterday, we were able to perform surgery without worrying about
loosing blood. His lungs were slightly punctured, and we had to fix a
couple of broken ribs. There are still some internal bleeding that will
eventually stop and heal. Everything had been successful and I'm sure
that he'll wake up pretty soon now." he finished with a smile.
Serena sat back down on a chair and covered her face with her
shaky hands. "What's the matter, Serena? Aren't you happy?" Serena
looked up to him with teary eyes. "I'm just so happy that he's alright.
And...and I can't help but cry. Thank you so much doctor....uh..."
"You may call me Wesley." he smiled as Serena embraced him again. "I
owe you my gratitude for saving Darien's life, and I can never repay
you." Wesley who was in his early 50's chuckled slightly. "Saving
lives is my job. And I don't want you to owe me anything. Ok?" he
asked with a smile. Serena nodded her head and turned to the ICU. "Is
he in his room right now?" she asked. "Yes, you may go see him if
you'd like." Serena nodded and let go of Wesley. "Thank you." she said
softly, and walked down the hallway.
Reaching for the door knob nervously, Serena pushed herself
into the room. The curtains were still down, but the room had been
slightly brighter because it was well after 2 p.m.. Taking a deep
breath, she shut the door quietly and walked to stand beside Darien's
bed. His face was still pale, and he still had machines hooked up to
him. If she had not heard the news from the doctor, she'd still think
that his conditions were the same as this morning.
Sitting down slowly, Serena touched Darien's arm. "I...I just
spoke to the doctor and he said that you're going to be fine. I was so
scared that you....wouldn't make it." she laid her head against
Darien's and softly hummed a tune while running her fingers gently
through his hair. "I'm sorry....I'm so sorry..." she cried as she took
Darien's cold hand into hers and laced their fingers together. His
hand was so rough and masculine, and very large compared to her own.
Suddenly she felt her hand being squeezed slightly as a
audible groan escaped Darien's mouth. Gasping slightly, Serena sat up
and gazed into his face. His eyes twitched for a second and then he
moaned again. "Oh Darien...it's me Serena." she whispered and leaned
down closer to his face. "Can...can you hear me?" Darien's eyes slowly
opened, as tears streamed down Serena's cheeks. "Mea...Meatball head?"
he asked softly as Serena giggled. "Ya, it...it's me." she smiled and
brushed a piece of hair out of his face.
"I'm so tired..." he mumbled as he tried to focus his vision
on her. "Shhh. go back to sleep." she drew the covers up to his chest
and smiled gratefully. "hmmmmm...." Serena begin to softly hum a
lullaby. Darien's chest raised up and down as he breathed deeply. A
small smile came over his lips as he opened them slightly to breathe.
The humming stopped as Serena swallowed a lump that was in her
throat. His lips captured her attention unknowingly as she gazed at
them with longing, and remembered when they had come so close to share
a kiss. Biting her lower lip, she bent down where her nose barely
touched his. 'Should I?' she asked herself and stared at his
irresistible lips. 'This might be the only chance that I'll ever get..
..to.' Closing her eyes slowly, she brushed her aching lips softly
over his.
Opening her eyes, Serena sat up slowly and sighed. That
was probably as close as she'll ever get. He was with another girl
yesterday. She was so much more beautiful and smart. "Darien had
probably already fell for her." Serena thought sadly and looked at him
one last time. Turning the lamp off, she picked up her things and
left.
As soon as she shut the door behind her, Andrew came rushing
around the corner. "Andrew!" she waved as he was searching for the
door number. "Hey Serena!" he checked his watch. "Aren't you supposed
to be in school right now?" he chuckled. "You know I had to be here."
she smiled. "I just got a message from the hospital that Darien had
just came out of surgery." Serena nodded excitedly. "Yes...the
procedure had been successful. He woke up a minute ago." she looked
down sadly. "I guess I should go. He probably doesn't want me to be
here." Andrew scrunched his brows. "Why wouldn't he?"
Serena sighed loudly. "Well isn't it obvious? I'm the reason
he's hurt. I know I had overreacted when I saw him with....with her..
." "Whoa wait a minute!" Andrew interrupted her. "Are you talking
about when you went to tutorials?" he asked. "Ya...how....how did you
know?" Serena followed Andrew and sat down on a couch. "Listen to me
Serena. This is kind of hard for me to tell you." Serena nodded as
Andrew took her hands. "The girl you saw with him was his professor's
niece. She just transferred to Juuban and needed help with her forms
and applications." Serena gasped in shock. "Darien called me to tell
you about her when you stop by at the arcade. But you never came and
I never got a chance to tell you."
Serena's eyes went blank for a second. "Oh my god....I...I
didn't even let him explain.." she said with alarm as tears
threatened to spill again. "Why were you so angry?" Andrew asked
gently. "I...I don't know. I felt....gosh I was so...uh!" she looked
up to the ceiling wondering is she should tell him. "You can trust me
ok Serena?" Andrew smiled softly. "I felt....mad and jealous when I
saw them sitting together and having a good time. I don't know what
came over me. But all I wanted to do was run away. He...he tried to
explain but I had been so stupid and I didn't even listen to him...."
she trailed off. The rest of the story was quite obvious to Andrew.
"He chased you down the street didn't he?" he asked gently and
Serena nodded. "I was just hurt. Honestly Andrew I didn't mean to...."
she broke into sobs at the remembrance. "I was so mad and....and my
eyes had been so blurry that I didn't see the truck that was coming
towards me. Darien risked his own life to save me....and now he's
barely conscious. This is all my fault...everything is my fault."
Serena clenched her fist angrily.
Andrew put the two pieces of the puzzle together and figured
out everything. Serena and Darien both had strong feelings for each
other. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, but they needed each
other. Touching Serena's arm gently, Andrew smiled at her tired eyes.
"I know he has already forgiven you." he said slowly as Serena raised
her head."Because he cares for you so much." Andrew smiled as Serena
looked into his eyes with a shocked expression.
"Do you really think so?" she asked quietly, as if she were
too scared to hear the answer. Andrew chuckled and glanced at the
clock. "I can guarantee you that one hundred percent. Maybe when he's
fully awake, you should tell him your feelings huh?" he suggested and
stood up. "I have another shift in 30 minutes. I should probably go.
Just wanted to make sure that Darien was alright." Serena smiled
softly. "Ya I'll figure something out." giving her a warm hug, Andrew
waved and left.
"So Darien's ok now?" Mina asked as they sat at their
favorite booth, by the window, at the caf鮠"Ya..." Serena answered
absentmindedly. "When is he getting out?" Rei asked and glanced at
Mina curiously. "Yep...." Serena answered again in the same dazed tone.
"Serena! What's gotten into you?" Lita snapped her fingers in front of
her face. Finally Serena came back to reality. "What was that?" she
asked confusedly.
"Never mind." Rei sighed and looked out of the window. "Oh yes
....I almost forgot." Ami interrupted the silence. "June 15th is the
annual bond fire festival. I read from the newspaper that it's going
to be held at the park right across the hospital this year. The reason
why is because they're honoring a famous doctor who saved many lives
back in the 1950's. I heard there's going to be fantastic displays of
lights. It should be a spectacle to see." she finished and clasped her
hands on her lap.
"I can't wait to go there. Maybe there'll be a lot of hotties
...single hotties of course." Mina winked with a mischievous look as
everyone giggled.....except for Serena. "Serena? What's been on your
mind lately?" Ami asked softly and creased her brow at the preoccupied
gaze that she held. "Have you been thinking about someone?" Lita added
with a giggle.
"Just Darien." they all sweat dropped. "You're not still
blaming yourself for the accident are you? That's why they call it an
accident. Anyone could have been crossing the street. It was just an
unfortunate coincidence." Rei tried to convince Serena. "If I had just
stopped and listened, none of it would have happened to him. I can't
just forget something like that. He risked his life for me! Me!"
Serena laid her head over her folded arms on the table.
No one said anything as they just watched Serena in agony.
"Isn't he getting out of the hospital tonight? Maybe you should go see
him." Ami suggested. "I don't know if I'm the person he wants to see."
Serena raised her head and stared at her drink. "What if he's still
mad at me?" "Serena! You haven't seen him in almost a month. I'm
sure if he's mad at you, it's because of that ok? Now you're going to
march your butt there at 7:30 pronto tonight. Do I make myself
clear???" Rei commanded, but giggled to indicate that she was just
being concerned. "Alright I'll go." Serena smiled as they all sighed
in relief.
"Serena! Nice seeing you again. You haven't been around in
quite a while." Wesley smiled as Serena made her way around the
corner. "Hi Wesley. I'm here to pick up Darien. Has he had many
visitors?" she asked with a smile. "Well in fact, two people came to
visit him just a minute ago. I'm sure they're still in his room." he
answered as he scrunched up his brow. "I believe one was an older man
in his 50's and the other a young lady." "Oh.." Serena stepped back a
little. "I guess I'll just say hello really quick." Wesley smiled
brightly. "Darien has been asking for you lately." "He has?" Serena
suddenly became a little nervous. "Why don't you go see for yourself."
Serena shrugged lightly and after saying goodbye to Wesley, walked
slowly to Darien's room.
An overwhelming pain rushed through Serena's body as she
focused her eyes on the scene before her. Claire was sitting in the
chair beside Darien's bed spoon feeding him soup as another older man
was reading the newspaper about the bond fire festival. "I'm sorry....
I guess I'll come back another time." Serena turned to leave as a
single tear escaped her eyes. "Wait Serena! Don't go." Darien sat up
suddenly, making Claire spill soup all over him. She let out a fit of
giggles as she wiped his shirt with a wash cloth. Not wanting to stay
and watch, Serena shut the door behind her. 'I'm not going to cry....
this is stupid..' she whispered to herself repeatedly.
"Why are you leaving without Darien?" Wesley asked as he
looked up from his notes. "He has someone else to take care of him
now. I guess I'm not needed. Goodbye Wesley. I'll come back and visit
sometimes." Serena tried her best to smile and stepped into the
awaiting elevator. Wesley just stared after her with a deep sigh.
"Well, there goes the perfect girl." he shook his head and glanced
back at Darien's closed door.
"Who was that?" Claire asked Darien as they stared at the door
after Serena had left. "She's a good friend." Darien murmured as he
felt a great loss all of a sudden. "Come now Darien. Don't get
yourself so worked up. Why don't the three of us attend the festival
on Saturday. I'm sure you and Claire can get to know each other
better." he stated, his true intentions not concealed.
Darien, in anyone's right mind is the perfect guy. He had
looks, intelligence, sophistication, and many other good qualities,
not to mention the promising career of a medical doctor. Why any
woman would be crazy if she didn't want to date him. "Oh I love
festivals!" Claire clasped her hands excitedly. "I think it'll be
fun." Darien tried his best to sound enthusiastic. "It's settled then.
We'll meet for dinner first. How does that sound?" at their nod, the
professor went on. "Oh how about that new seafood restaurant downtown.
I'll make reservations and we'll go from then on." they continued to
chat about various things as the hours went by.
"Serena, you're home early. How was Darien?" Irene asked as
she set up the table for dinner. "Oh...he was fine. Can I be excused
from dinner. I'm not really hungry." Serena stuttered. "You? Not
hungry?" Sammy pretended to faint as Irene covered his mouth. "One
more word, and you're grounded." "Sorry mom." turning to Serena, Irene
looked at her with worry. "Are you sure Serena? I made your favorite,
chicken and vegetable curry!" "No thanks mom. I'll pass." Serena
answered somewhat tiredly and trudged upstairs.
As soon as Serena walked into her room, the telephone ringed.
"Hello?" she answered without the usual cheeriness in her voice.
"Serena? Is that you?" Ami asked. She almost didn't recognize her
sultry voice. "Hi Ames." "Well, Rei had just called me a minute ago.
She and Mina thought it would be fun for us to go out to a fancy
restaurant for dinner before going to the festival." Serena nodded as
she walked to stand beside her window. "That sounds nice." she smiled
for the first time today. "Rei insisted on treating us. I guess we
can't really back down on that offer. She has picked that new seafood
restaurant downtown called Kyoko's Cuisine. We're all meeting at the
temple at 5:30." "Really? That sounds awesome!" Ami smiled as Serena
began to brighten up. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school." "Ya
bye." Serena said and smiled.
After putting the phone back, Serena looked at herself in
the mirror. "I guess Darien's found another girl now. No use getting
sentimental over something that never happened between us. There's
plenty of other guys I haven't met. Why waste time on someone who's
clearly not interested in plain old me." Serena said to herself. It
did make her feel a little better, not pitying herself like she did
for the last couple of weeks. Putting on a nice smile, Serena rushed
downstairs. "Mom, is dinner ready yet? I'm starving!" she hollered as
Irene nearly dropped the soup bowl she was carrying. "What?!"
Hello! I know at this point you might think that it's over between our
favorite couple. But don't let things deceive you. Anyway, thank you
guys so much for writing me! I really appreciate every single mail
that I get. Well stay tuned for chapter 6!